Famous journalist believes Daniil Medvedev’s loss to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Australian Open final started his downfall
Steve Flink believes Daniil Medvedev is yet to recover from the devastating loss at the hands of Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Australian Open.
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Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev (Image: ATP Tour)
he past few months have not been very successful for Russian Daniil Medvedev on the tennis court. In the 2023 Australian Open, the 26-year-old was ousted in the third round by Sebastian Korda in straight sets. Adding to the misery, the former World No. 1 fell out of the top-10 rankings following his average showing on the tour.
Steve Flink, the renowned tennis journalist, has tried to pinpoint the moment when Medvedev’s downfall after being at the top started. He believes the Russian players’ heartbreaking loss to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Australian Open is to blame for their poor performance. According to Flink, Medvedev is yet to recover from the momentous loss.
“I think it was a golden missed opportunity for Medevedev. I don’t think he’s ever been quite the same since,” Flink said. “The problematic part is that Medvedev failed to overcome it since then despite plenty of time passing. He’s had plenty of time, I think to put the ship back in order,” he continued.
In one of the most stunning comebacks in recent memory, the 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal defeated Medvedev in a final that lasted 5 hours and 24 minutes. Medvedev was two sets ahead before Nadal turned the tables on him. This was the second-longest major final in history after the 2012 Australian Open final, in which Nadal faced Novak Djokovic.
How Rafael Nadal broke the heart of Daniil Medvedev in the final
Before the start of the 2022 Australian Open final, a lot was a stake for both opponents. Nadal was trying to surpass an all-time record of 20 major men’s singles titles, shared with his rivals, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, by winning a record 21st Major title. While for Medvedev, a second consecutive Grand Slam title after the 2021 US Open was in sight.
Nadal was definitely the favorite going into the match. But Medvedev surprised everyone by taking the first two sets 6-2, 7-6. As they say, the rest is history after that. After clinching the third set, Nadal totally shifted the momentum of the game toward him.
Nadal then took the fourth set 6–4 to send the match into a championship-deciding fifth set. The Spaniard avoided the set to go into the tiebreaker as he served for the championship at 6–5, and held the game at love to complete the spectacular comeback and win his second Australian Open after 13 years.
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Abhinavendu Singh
(290 Articles Published)